Descent of the Goddess
or
Journey of the Lady
In the Dreamtime long ago, the silver Maiden chose to solve all mysteries, even the mystery of death. When the green had faded from the earth, she journied west to the end of the world, across the rainbow bridge.
The Guardian of the Otherland halted her: "Take off your amulets and bright ornaments. Lay aside your tools and titles. Naught will be brought into the land of the dead."
So she laid aside her mighty amulets and ornaments and put aside her spindle and crown, and came in by herself.
She came before the Lord in the land of eternal summer.
Such was her beauty that he rose from his throne of splendor to greet her, but she challenged him saying: "Why do you cause all things lovely and delightful to die and vanish?"
"Lady," he answered, "nothing is constant. Against age and disease, I have no power. That which cannot live any longer comes to me. Here, I give rest and peace and comfort in this haven. All are healed of sorrow and strife and then are made young and whole again. I see you are sorrowful in that land of flux. Leave not, abide with your beauty here with me in the Shining Isle."
"No," replied the Maiden, "I will not. Still I crave love and life with laughter and tears."
The Lord removed his magnificent crown. "It is fate; better so." He placed the crown in her hands saying: "Though all passes out of life, all will be reborn."
The Maiden raised the crown and it became a silver circlet. She placed it about her neck saying: "Behold the circle of rebirth."
The Maiden returned to the land of life. She taught her people, "Behold, as the moon wanes, grows dark, and then reappears to wax again, so humans will die and be reborn again. Listen to the great mystery of the wheel of life. To have love, you must be born and live your life, returning with the people you love, so that you may meet, love, live and know them again. But to be born, you must die and make ready for a new body. And if you are to die, you must be born and live your life, howsoever long or brief. Everything passes. Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever, not even death; and the circle is ever turning.
I have been fascinated by studying different versions of the Descent of the Goddess since I began studying Wicca in 1979 and entered a coven in 1984.
I still like this version and put it here so you can compare it with the version on the Aradia Goddess website at: "Why the Wicca..."
This version has two titles, because I originally called it "Journey of the Lady," instead of what it was more commonly known as, "The Descent of the Goddess." You'll notice that in "The Journey of the Lady," she's actually journeying west to the end of the world to the shining isle of Celtic lore. In other versions, she is actually descending to a cthonic underworld. In both versions, she meets the God and gets the necklace which symbolizes the circle of rebirth.
--Myth Woodling, 2007